The objectives of this research project are to (1) identify the problems faced by the young widow, that is, the woman widowed before the age of 45, during each stage of the grief process-shock and denial, recognizing the loss and doing the grief work, and recovery or re- engagement; (2) explore the strategies and resources used by the young widow to cope with these problem. and (3) measure the success of coping by examining the intensity and duration of psychological symptoms and the degree of social involvement throughout the grief process. Data will be gathered from thirty young widows using a semi- structured instrument. The entire interview will last two to three hours and will be tape recorded to allow for recording of complete responses to the open-ended questions and to provide reliability checks for the forced choice questions which will be marked by the interviewer during the interview itself. Results of this project are expected to add to the understanding of the grief process and to provide assistance to the medical professional in his relationship with the young widow during her bereavement.